This invention relates to the field of dental instruments in general and toothbrush-type instruments in particular.
The use of a toothbrush (along with dental floss) has long been the primary in-home technique for the maintenance of oral health. Toothbrushing has several long-standing and well known shortcomings in this regard.
Conventional brush designs are best suited for cleaning only the crown of the tooth. This is completely inadequate to maintain the health of tooth supporting structures, including the gums. It is now known that disease producing microorganisms are harbored in the sulcus marginalis, the groove or pocket between the tooth and gums. These microorganisms include the bacteria which cause caries, plaque, tartar and, most importantly gum disease. Regular and thorough cleaning of this region is now known to be essential to good oral health. Conventional toothbrushes are neither designed or suited to clean this area. When used to do so, they achieve poor results resulting in continued gum disease.
In addition to the inability of most conventional toothbrushes to effectively clean around and below the gum line, there are other problems associated with these devices. Conventional brushes are not "user friendly". That is, they are not, by virtue of their design, naturally used in the correct manner. In fact, most toothbrushes are easier to misuse than they are to use correctly. This results in very poor patient compliance with the overall oral hygiene program in general and the tooth and below the gum area cleaning regimen in particular.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new toothbrush which is well suited to the easy and effective cleaning of the entire tooth and gum area, especially the region of the sulcus marginalis (no matter its depth) and below to the point of gum attachment. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new toothbrush which is easy to use in the proper manner and does not lend itself to misuse by those having poor technique.